Rush denied allegations in August 2013 that he pressured former Metra CEO Alex Clifford to cut a $50,000 check to a national organization he had recommended to monitor minority hiring for a massive South Side rail project.<ref name="metra">[http://www.suntimes.com/news/21764897-418/rep-rush-angrily-denies-pressuring-ex-metra-ceo-alex-clifford.html ''Chicago Sun Times'' "Rep. Rush angrily denies pressuring ex-Metra CEO Alex Clifford" Accessed August 7, 2013]</ref>

Rush’s name surfaced in July 2013 when Clifford, in explosive testimony before the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) board, said he was forced out at Metra because he resisted political pressure from high-ranking Illinois politicians.<ref name="metra"/> The deepening scandal has already resulted in four Metra board members resigning, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel forcing out the city’s only representative, Larry Huggins.<ref name="metra"/>

+

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On August 6, 2013, Rush blasted a news report that said he recommended Metra pay $50,000 to the National Black Chamber of Commerce, an organization the congressman recommended be brought in to oversee minority participation in the Englewood flyover project, construction of a rail bridge. Clifford testified before the RTA that he refused to send a check because, among other things, he couldn’t figure out what the chamber of commerce would actually be doing on the project.<ref name="metra"/>

Rush voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll659.xml ''U.S. House'' "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.]</ref>

Rush voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.<ref>[http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll659.xml ''U.S. House'' "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.]</ref>

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===Controversy===

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=Immigration=

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====Denies pressuring Metra CEO====

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Rush denied allegations in August 2013 that he pressured former Metra CEO Alex Clifford to cut a $50,000 check to a national organization he had recommended to monitor minority hiring for a massive South Side rail project.<ref name="metra">[http://www.suntimes.com/news/21764897-418/rep-rush-angrily-denies-pressuring-ex-metra-ceo-alex-clifford.html ''Chicago Sun Times'' "Rep. Rush angrily denies pressuring ex-Metra CEO Alex Clifford" Accessed August 7, 2013]</ref>

Rush’s name surfaced in July 2013 when Clifford, in explosive testimony before the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) board, said he was forced out at Metra because he resisted political pressure from high-ranking Illinois politicians.<ref name="metra"/> The deepening scandal has already resulted in four Metra board members resigning, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel forcing out the city’s only representative, Larry Huggins.<ref name="metra"/>

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=Social issues=

−

On August 6, 2013, Rush blasted a news report that said he recommended Metra pay $50,000 to the National Black Chamber of Commerce, an organization the congressman recommended be brought in to oversee minority participation in the Englewood flyover project, construction of a rail bridge. Clifford testified before the RTA that he refused to send a check because, among other things, he couldn’t figure out what the chamber of commerce would actually be doing on the project.<ref name="metra"/>

2011-2012

Issues

Controversy

Denies pressuring Metra CEO

Rush denied allegations in August 2013 that he pressured former Metra CEO Alex Clifford to cut a $50,000 check to a national organization he had recommended to monitor minority hiring for a massive South Side rail project.[7]

“I have never, ever — during this whole process — attempted to steer, attempted to invite, attempted to involve anybody into receiving one red cent — not one red cent,” Rush told reporters.[7]

Rush’s name surfaced in July 2013 when Clifford, in explosive testimony before the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) board, said he was forced out at Metra because he resisted political pressure from high-ranking Illinois politicians.[7] The deepening scandal has already resulted in four Metra board members resigning, including Mayor Rahm Emanuel forcing out the city’s only representative, Larry Huggins.[7]

On August 6, 2013, Rush blasted a news report that said he recommended Metra pay $50,000 to the National Black Chamber of Commerce, an organization the congressman recommended be brought in to oversee minority participation in the Englewood flyover project, construction of a rail bridge. Clifford testified before the RTA that he refused to send a check because, among other things, he couldn’t figure out what the chamber of commerce would actually be doing on the project.[7]

Legislative actions

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[8] For more information pertaining to Rush's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[9]

American response in Syria

On August 29, 2013, more than 50 HouseDemocrats signed a letter written by CaliforniaRep.Barbara Lee that called for a congressional resolution on strikes, and cautioned that the dire situation in Syria "should not draw us into an unwise war—especially without adhering to our constitutional requirements."[10][11] The letter also called on the Obama administration to work with the U.N. Security Council “to build international consensus” condemning the alleged use of chemical weapons. Rush was one of the 50 Democrats in the House to sign the letter.[10][11]

Fiscal Cliff

Rush voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was 1 of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[12]

Fred Smith was endorsed in the Democratic primary over Rush.[2] Rush had been criticized by govtrack.us for having the "fourth worst missed-vote record in Congress — 13.2 percent".[2] He also took critique from suburban mayors who "grumble that he's less responsive to their constituents' needs than to those of city residents."[2] The redrawn 1st District, reaching into rural Will County, will bring in many more suburban voters.[2]

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Bobby L. Rush, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Raymond G. Wardingley (R) and Jeff Adams (Green) in the general election.[14]

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Bobby L. Rushincumbent

80.4%

148,170

Republican

Raymond G. Wardingley

15.9%

29,253

Green

Jeff Adams

3.8%

6,963

Total Votes

184,386

2008

On November 4, 2008, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Antoine Members (R) in the general election.[15]

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Bobby L. Rushincumbent

85.9%

233,036

Republican

Antoine Members

14.1%

38,361

Total Votes

271,397

2006

On November 7, 2006, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Jason E. Tabour (R) in the general election.[16]

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2006

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Bobby L. Rushincumbent

84.1%

146,623

Republican

Jason E. Tabour

15.9%

27,804

Total Votes

174,427

2004

On November 2, 2004, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Raymond G. Wardingley (R) in the general election.[17]

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2004

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Bobby L. Rushincumbent

84.9%

212,109

Republican

Raymond G. Wardingley

15.1%

37,840

Total Votes

249,949

2002

On November 5, 2002, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Raymond G. Wardingley (R) in the general election.[18]

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2002

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Bobby L. Rushincumbent

83.4%

149,068

Republican

Raymond G. Wardingley

16.6%

29,776

Total Votes

178,844

2000

On November 7, 2000, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Raymond G. Wardingley (R) in the general election.[19]

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 2000

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Bobby L. Rushincumbent

87.8%

172,271

Republican

Raymond G. Wardingley

12.2%

23,915

Total Votes

196,186

1998

On November 3, 1998, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Marlene White Ahimaz (R) in the general election.[20]

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 1998

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Bobby L. Rushincumbent

89.2%

151,890

Republican

Marlene White Ahimaz

10.8%

18,429

Total Votes

170,319

1996

On November 5, 1996, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Noel Naughton (R) in the general election.[21]

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 1996

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Bobby L. Rushincumbent

87.1%

174,005

Republican

Noel Naughton

12.9%

25,659

Total Votes

199,664

1994

On November 8, 1994, Bobby L. Rush won re-election to the United States House. He defeated William J. Kelly (R) in the general election.[22]

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 1994

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Bobby L. Rushincumbent

75.7%

112,474

Republican

William J. Kelly

24.3%

36,038

Total Votes

148,512

1992

On November 3, 1992, Bobby L. Rush won election to the United States House. He defeated Jay Walker (R) in the general election.[23]

U.S. House, Illinois District 1 General Election, 1992

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Bobby L. Rush

82.8%

209,258

Republican

Jay Walker

17.2%

43,453

Total Votes

252,711

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Rush is available dating back to 2000. Based on available campaign finance records, Rush raised a total of $3,569,105 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 5, 2013.[24]

2012

Breakdown of the source of Rush's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Rush won re-election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Rush's campaign committee raised a total of $498,765 and spent $476,407.[28] This is less than the average $1.5 million spent by House winners in 2012.[29]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Rush missed 1,791 of 13,519 roll call votes from Jan 1993 to Mar 2013. This amounts to 13.2%, which is worse than the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.[36]

Congressional staff salaries

2011

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Rush paid his congressional staff a total of $1,162,963 in 2011. He ranks 24th on the list of the highest paid Democratic representative staff salaries and ranks 28th overall of the highest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Illinois ranks 46th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[37]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Rush's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $250,001 and $500,000. That averages to $375,000, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic representatives in 2011 of $5,107,874.[38]

Recent news

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Personal

In addition to his congressional responsibilities, Rush is the pastor of the Beloved Community Christian Church of Chicago.[1] Rush and his wife of 31 years, Carolyn, have a blended family with six children including a son who lost his life to gun violence in 1999.[1]